Boat mooring apparatus



July 4, 1961 H. P. HENDERSON.

BOAT MOORING APPARATUS Filed May 11, 1959 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS f aw United States Patent 2,990,803 BOAT MOORING APPARATUS Harold P. Henderson, 271 Northwood Drive, Ton'awauda, N.Y. Filed May 11, 1959, Ser. No. 812,255 2' Claims. (Cl. 114-230) This invention relates to mooring or tethering means for small craft and particularly to an arrangement which permits vertical adjustment of the same or, more accurately, automatic vertical compensation, to permit close mooring of a vessel despite variations in the water level due to tidal effects or other causes.

Various means have previously been proposed for mooring or tethering water craft in such a way that the element to which the mooring line attaches is vertically adjustable by being float supported, for instance, or by other more elaborate height adjustment means.

The present invention provides an extremely simple arrangement involving merely a channel or track member of particular form which is attached to a pier or the like to extend vertically generally both above and below the mean water level. A wheeled carriage member runs vertically in the track or channel, being securely retained therein for free vertical movement, and receives one end of a line or hawser, the other end of which is attached to a cleat or the like on the vessel.

Simple adjustable means are provided for defining the lower limit of movement of the carriage under various conditions of use so that the carriage will not become too deeply immersed in the water during periods of nonuse, while still affording sufficient travel space therefor to permit vertical adjustment throughout whatever range may be reasonably required under various water conditions at a given locality.

A specific embodiment of the principles of the present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing and described in detail in the following specification. However, it is to be understood that such embodiment is set forth to illustrate the principles of the present invention and that the spirit and scope thereof are not limited to the precise form shown, nor otherwise than as defined in the appended claims.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevational view of a pier or dock having a vessel moored thereto by one formof the apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an elevational view of such apparatus viewed at right angles to FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a horizontal cross-sectional view through the mooring device of FIGS. 1 and 2; and

FIG. 4 is a disassembled perspective view of means for limiting the free vertical movement of the carriage relative to its trackway.

Like characters of reference denote like parts in the several figures of the drawing and, referring to FIG. 1, the numeral designates generally a dock or pier having a platform 11 and the usual supporting piles, one of which is indicated at 12 in FIG. 1. The guide portion of the mooring device of the present invention comprises a channel member 13 which has its web portion attached vertically to the side of the dock or pier 10, preferably extending along the pile 12 as clearly shown in FIG. 1.

Screws 14 extend through the web of channel member 13 for attaching the same. In FIG. 1 the numeral 16 designates a small boat and a mooring line 17 is attached at one end to a cleat 18 on the gunwale of the boat. The other end of mooring line 17 is tied through an opening in a plate member 20 which comprises the body member of a carriage movable vertically with respect to channel member 13. I

The channel member 13 includes return bent terminal flange portions extending lengthwise thereof as clearly shown in the cross-sectional view, FIG. 3, and a pair of spindles or axles 22 extend through plate 20 and are provided at their opposite ends with rollers 23 which ride in the flange portions of channel member 13 and are retained by the return bent portions thereof, the rollers being retained and guided in both an axial and a radial direction as viewed from above.

Thus the plate 20 with its mounting rollers is free to move vertically with respect to channel member 13 and the mooring line 17 may be relatively short to retain the boat 16 close to the pier or dock and still permit wide changes in water level without applying an oblique or tipping force to the boat. Raising or lowering motion of the boat as upon changes in water level results in the carriage plate 20 being drawn upwardly or downwardly with the boat by rolling movement of the wheels 23 in the flanges of channel member 13.

The head of the lower screw 14 projects into the path of plate 20, as indicated in FIG. 3, and thus prevents the plate 20 from falling out of the bottom of channel member 13 when it is not connected with a mooring line. Furthermore, to prevent the plate member from being submerged to an inconvenient degree when not in use, adjustable stop means are provided.

In the form illustrated herein the stop means comprises a leaf spring member 26 which is pivoted to the outside of one of the flanges of the channel member 13 as by a screw 27. At its other end leaf spring member 26 has fixed thereto a pin 28 which is adapted to be fixed in an opening 29 in the leaf spring member and has a manipulating part 30 and a projecting pin portion 31 which passes through a clearance opening in the flange of chain nel member 13 to dispose the same in the path of a lower roller 23 of the carriage assembly.

A second clearance opening is formed in the flange of channel 13 at the same distance from screw 27 as the first-mentioned clearance opening and thus, referring to FIG. 1, the manipulating portion 30 may be grasped to remove pin 31 from one of the openings in the flange of channel member 13 by flexure of leaf spring 26, whereupon the latter may be swung through degrees on pivot screw 27 to dispose the locking pin 28 in registry with the other clearance opening in the flange of channel member 13. While two positions of the locking pin may sufflce, further leaf spring devices 26 may be pro vided along channel member 13 if more stop positions are desired.

I claim:

1. In a boat mooring device, a fixed vertical trackway comprising a channel member having a web portion and flanges extending therefrom, said flanges having their terminal portions bent toward each other thence toward the web portion to provide marginal channel formations facing toward said web portion, and carriage means comprising a body member disposed in said channel member between said marginal formations, a shaft extending through said body member, rollers at the ends of said shaft each enclosed within one of said marginal channel formations and said web portion for guided vertical rolling movement of said rollers, said carriage means body member having a portion projecting from said channel member for attachment to a mooring line, and vertically adjustable abutment means along said channel member for variably determining the lower limit of movement of said carriage means with respect to said channel member.

2. In a boat mooring device, a fixed vertical trackway comprising a channel member having a web portion and flanges extending therefrom, said flanges having their terminal portions bent toward each other thence toward the web portion to provide marginal channel formations facing toward said web portion, and carriage means comprising a rigid plate member disposed edgewise in said channel member between said marginal formations, a pair of vertically spaced parallel shafts extending through said plate member within said channel member, rollers at the opposite ends of said shafts, the two rollers at each side of said body portion being enclosed within one of said marginal channel formations and said web portion for guided vertical rolling movement of said rollers, said carriage means plate member having a perforated outer edge portion projecting from said channel member to receive a mooring line, and vertically adjustable abutment means along said channel member for variably determining the lower limit of movement of said carriage means with respect to said channel member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

